[A lot of job/spell changes will be made to suit the following, but that isn't the issue at hand]
Basically, I want to add a seventh stat: Agility. Well, this, and a lot of big changes at once.
Dexterity, which I might wanna rename, takes most physical perception traits from Wisdom(listen, spot) and becomes the base stat for anything involving hand-eye coordination(so, as is) and aiming/precision. Agility takes away the, well, agile aspects from Dexterity(including AC and Reflex) and skills like Hide. Another thing Agility will decide is movement speed(which at the moment, don't want to think about). Wisdom, I'll probably rename Mind, and it will become a universally important stat for its ties with "chi"(important to melee) and mana/magic(important to... yeah).
One problem may be "characters might be too spread out", but I've decided to run the type of campaign where direct-stat boosts from magic items are rare(but magic items not rare in general) and players gain a lot of natural stat enhancements. 1 stat bonus every level after level 1, with the limit of only being able to upgrade the same stat once every 3 or 4 levels. Players start off with a bunch of predetermined numbers they can put in any stat (thinking 1 10, 1 12, and the rest 14s, 15s, and 16s)
First off, Armor as DR. And... a second tier of Constitution-based natural damage reduction. Your CON mod(and any bonuses) - attacker's STR mod(like wise) = natural DR for your character. If the attacker's STR mod is higher than your CON mod, he gets additional bonus on his damage attack. This secondary DR is increased while you level, which rate is based on your job(Toughish melees are best here, agile melees/experts not so much, and mages bad).
For any reason important, this natural DR is always counted after armor DR. For critical hits: Ignore Armor DR. The natural DR sometimes receives a x1.5 or x2 bonus when it belongs to a monster who has a special damage immunity(to slashing, piercing, or blunt), and likewise, can suffer just as powerful penalties when weak to that damage type. Just because I couldn't fit in earlier, Masterwork/Magic weapon bonuses are no longer applied to the "to hit"/Attack roll, but do count with your STR when determining whoever you want to chop up's natural DR(so, they can potentially count twice).
Second, if the opponent's damage does not breach the armor's DR, its considered that the attack never hit at all. Basically, what DnD kind of is now. However, its important to note that the damage was reduced, see below.
Third, every set of armor has "HP" based on what type it is and what its made out of. For every point of damage reduced, the armor's HP drops. For critical hits, twice the normal damage is done. This HP can be 'cured' with the current materials, time(though not really problem for the type of campaign I'm creating, where crafting has become magical based, and everyone has access to the type of magic[and only that type for commoners]), and crafting skill.
Fourth, AC is now entirely "mobile" based. So naturally, Defense Bonus variant. However, instead of adding DEX to your AC, you add "AGL", Agility. AC is also rolled and called Defense Roll.
Going to stop counting now, Attacking is now based on hitting the target. DEX is added into your Attack.
You no longer add your CON mod to your HP score. There has been a lot of discussion of what HP is. Its often referred to as a mix between a character's ability to make lethal wounds weaker, luck, and natural body resistance. I'm going with the first two only and letting CON be focused on the natural DR.
To help CON and WIS/Mind a little, the amount of Fortitude and Will checks will be increased in basic battle. Any attack that would normally kill or disable the player can be negated to leaving the player to 1 HP with a successful Fort save(DC = Damage). When this is done at 1 HP, the damage can be negated to 0 HP. Demoralizing your opponent/s is easier and can be even unintended. Any attack that deals a good amount of damage can force the taker on the damage to make a Will check, and if he fails he gets a penalty on attacks and defense(-1, -2, -3, around there). Same if you brutally kill an ally or look overpowering(think Dragons)/overwhelming in numbers(think outnumber.
A lot of DEX vs AGL going on: Attack vs AC, Listen vs Sneak/Move Silently, Spot vs Hide, you get the point. Also STR vs CON is important as well: Damage vs Natural AC.
Erk, too tired to make any typo fixes.
Basically, I want to add a seventh stat: Agility. Well, this, and a lot of big changes at once.
Dexterity, which I might wanna rename, takes most physical perception traits from Wisdom(listen, spot) and becomes the base stat for anything involving hand-eye coordination(so, as is) and aiming/precision. Agility takes away the, well, agile aspects from Dexterity(including AC and Reflex) and skills like Hide. Another thing Agility will decide is movement speed(which at the moment, don't want to think about). Wisdom, I'll probably rename Mind, and it will become a universally important stat for its ties with "chi"(important to melee) and mana/magic(important to... yeah).
One problem may be "characters might be too spread out", but I've decided to run the type of campaign where direct-stat boosts from magic items are rare(but magic items not rare in general) and players gain a lot of natural stat enhancements. 1 stat bonus every level after level 1, with the limit of only being able to upgrade the same stat once every 3 or 4 levels. Players start off with a bunch of predetermined numbers they can put in any stat (thinking 1 10, 1 12, and the rest 14s, 15s, and 16s)
First off, Armor as DR. And... a second tier of Constitution-based natural damage reduction. Your CON mod(and any bonuses) - attacker's STR mod(like wise) = natural DR for your character. If the attacker's STR mod is higher than your CON mod, he gets additional bonus on his damage attack. This secondary DR is increased while you level, which rate is based on your job(Toughish melees are best here, agile melees/experts not so much, and mages bad).
For any reason important, this natural DR is always counted after armor DR. For critical hits: Ignore Armor DR. The natural DR sometimes receives a x1.5 or x2 bonus when it belongs to a monster who has a special damage immunity(to slashing, piercing, or blunt), and likewise, can suffer just as powerful penalties when weak to that damage type. Just because I couldn't fit in earlier, Masterwork/Magic weapon bonuses are no longer applied to the "to hit"/Attack roll, but do count with your STR when determining whoever you want to chop up's natural DR(so, they can potentially count twice).
Second, if the opponent's damage does not breach the armor's DR, its considered that the attack never hit at all. Basically, what DnD kind of is now. However, its important to note that the damage was reduced, see below.
Third, every set of armor has "HP" based on what type it is and what its made out of. For every point of damage reduced, the armor's HP drops. For critical hits, twice the normal damage is done. This HP can be 'cured' with the current materials, time(though not really problem for the type of campaign I'm creating, where crafting has become magical based, and everyone has access to the type of magic[and only that type for commoners]), and crafting skill.
Fourth, AC is now entirely "mobile" based. So naturally, Defense Bonus variant. However, instead of adding DEX to your AC, you add "AGL", Agility. AC is also rolled and called Defense Roll.
Going to stop counting now, Attacking is now based on hitting the target. DEX is added into your Attack.
You no longer add your CON mod to your HP score. There has been a lot of discussion of what HP is. Its often referred to as a mix between a character's ability to make lethal wounds weaker, luck, and natural body resistance. I'm going with the first two only and letting CON be focused on the natural DR.
To help CON and WIS/Mind a little, the amount of Fortitude and Will checks will be increased in basic battle. Any attack that would normally kill or disable the player can be negated to leaving the player to 1 HP with a successful Fort save(DC = Damage). When this is done at 1 HP, the damage can be negated to 0 HP. Demoralizing your opponent/s is easier and can be even unintended. Any attack that deals a good amount of damage can force the taker on the damage to make a Will check, and if he fails he gets a penalty on attacks and defense(-1, -2, -3, around there). Same if you brutally kill an ally or look overpowering(think Dragons)/overwhelming in numbers(think outnumber.
A lot of DEX vs AGL going on: Attack vs AC, Listen vs Sneak/Move Silently, Spot vs Hide, you get the point. Also STR vs CON is important as well: Damage vs Natural AC.
Erk, too tired to make any typo fixes.
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